Summer at the Beach
by iamacoldheartedbookworm
Summary: Sixth year and the war are over, but while everyone rejoices with their families, Hermione is sent to her grandparents after her parents are killed. But spending a summer on the beaches of America might not be so bad for our favorite bookworm. NON-HBP/DH


A/N: So, I haven't been able to work on anything else lately, but suddenly the other day this just came to me! So yes, I'm still working on my other stuff, but right now I think this will take the forefront of my mind. And if people start to wonder, it should be around the beginning of the week that I upload chapters because the weekend is the only time I get to work on this really, so…

Also, I tried to look for my mistakes, but if anyone finds some, just let me know and I'll get right on it! Promise!

Now, enjoy!

Chapter 1-First Days and Surprises

Summer time again. A time when children run from school and into the playgrounds and malls and any other place that one could possibly think of for three long months. I normally went home from school to spend what little time I had with my family, knowing that soon I might not have any more time with them at all. But this summer, this summer was going to be different. I had stood on the front lines of the Final Battle of a war that had been raging on for decades, and I stood there as one of my best friends in the world defeated the man who had tried to kill him and myself on many occasions. And surprisingly, not many had died, although many had been injured. Alastor Moody, who, a few years ago, had become like a grandfather to me while he trained us, was one who had died. I was saddened, but now I know he wouldn't want me to morn him, so I only tried to live up to what he wanted me to be.

It was only the end of sixth year, though, so I still had one more year to go. And a summer, as mentioned before. Everyone in the wizarding world thought that the last summer before the end of school would be spent together, enjoying life. They were wrong.

Harry had agreed to stay with Remus and Tonks, helping to take care of little Teddy while they both recovered from the battle, Tonks taking a few nasty curses and hexes, though she still held her ever bubbly personality. Ron was, along with the rest of the family, including the in-laws of the family, staying at the Burrow, taking the time to just be together, something that had been hard during the time of the war. That's what most were doing, I guess. Taking time to be with family.

I was doing that, too. Just not in a way that I had originally thought I was going to. My parents had been killed a few months ago, right after I had gotten back to school after Christmas. It had been hard, but with the help of my friends, I had not gotten over it per se, but accepted it. So, what was a seventeen year-old-girl to do with her last free summer? Why, live on the beaches of California, USA!

See, I had family, my grandparents specifically, who lived in Redondo Beach, CA, so that's my new home for the moment. In my parents will, they had stated that they wanted me to go and live with them until I graduated and got a place of my own, or until I went to university. They had also said that they knew this was a good opportunity for me, a chance to really become all that I could be. And, according to my mother, maybe keep my nose out of books for a while. I wasn't sure if that was possible, but I had made a commitment to try. It was the least I could do for them, after everything they had done for me.

When I knew what I was doing, before I left, I let everyone know, and Dumbledore even made sure that anything I would get for seventh year would be sent to me at the house, and everyone had the address themselves and promised to write, just like I did. It didn't matter, even halfway around the world and wanting to be alone for a while and relax, we would still be close.

So here I was, getting ready to touch down in LAX. The flight had been fun, but almost twelve hours on the plane, I was ready to get off and stretch my legs a bit, not just walk up and down the aisles a few times. I held my breath as we landed and closed my eyes as we jumped a bit, then relaxed when a steady roll towards the terminal started. There was a young newly wed couple that was going to Hawaii for there anniversary, and had been talking to me on and off for the flight, and now looked over at me. Marie, the new bride, smiled brightly. "Congratulations, Hermione! You've successfully made it through your first plane ride! How do you feel?" I grinned and shrugged. "Like I want to run off this stupid thing and kiss the ground and thank whoever is listening!" We all laughed, and Max helped us get our carry on from the overhead before we started walking down the aisle.

Once we were safely off the plane, we began the walk to get our bags, and when we finally did and get situated, we said our goodbyes. We swapped numbers, e-mail address, and everything else. Honestly, they were only a few years older then me, twenty, so I knew that we were on our way to becoming good friends. It took me a few minutes, but after searching, I finally found my grandparents. Anne and Leo Granger were my dad's parents, and I had met them a total of three times, but I knew this was the chance to become closer with them. They were an older couple, but just by looking at them I could still see the child within both of them.

"Maya Jane Granger! My goodness, look at you! Such a beautiful young lady!" My grandmother was being typically cliché, with the, "my, look how tall you are", or "look how beautiful you are", but I didn't mind in the least. I soaked it up, glowing at them as I ran and we came together in a loving hug. We stayed like that, all with tears running down our faces. And then we began talking of everything and anything, like we'd only been out of touch for a few years. In reality, I hadn't seen them since I started Hogwarts.

The ride wasn't that long, and I spent the whole time just gaping in amazement at the scenery and the ocean view. It was the most beautiful thing I had ever had the honor of laying my eyes on. When we arrived at Redondo Beach, according to the sign, I was even taken back further. It was like this small little piece of paradise tucked away just for me, which I knew wasn't true, but I still had that feeling.

And the house, when we drove up, took my breath away. It wasn't that big, but it was a good size, and when I finally got inside, I almost fainted. The living room was furnished nicely, with everything, a fireplace, large plasma screen TV, two couches, a recliner, small table, pictures, just everything, and the polished wooden floor made it look even better. The kitchen was nice, with an island in the middle. I finally couldn't help it and asked my grandpa to help me carry my stuff up to my room. I wasn't disappointed when I got up to my room, just surprised. The rest of the house was completely done and furnished and beautiful. My room, however, was almost larger then my room I shared with my classmates at Hogwarts, but empty, other then the queen sized bed with plain white sheets. My grandpa set my bags down and walked over to the closet and bathroom, showing me everything, explaining the whole time why it looked like this. Apparently, this was normally just an unused guest bedroom, but now that I was here, we where going shopping this afternoon, not only for my room, but also for my closet and anything else I could think of. "We have years of birthdays and holidays to make up for!", was my grandfather's explanation with a smile. It was early still, only a little after ten in the morning, so I could see how we could do it. And, something that seemed completely out of character for me, I was totally and completely one hundred percent ready!

Back in the car again, which I might want to add that it wasn't some small old people car, but a black 2009 Ford Escape, fully loaded. So, it seemed that no matter what we bought to day, there would be plenty of room for it all. That, I'll add, just edged me on further.

The first store that we walked into was Bed, Bath, and Beyond. The first thing we got was my new bedding. The sheets were a pastel green, the comforter stripped pastel green and pastel blue, with pillows of separate colors and a few of combined. Then, we got the pastel blue curtains to match to cover my sliding door, did I mention that?, that led to the second story patio. I'd also gotten a perfect sized desk, big enough to fit my laptop, my parents had gotten it for a me last summer, my books in the built in shelves on the sides, and any other little knick knacks I wanted, and larger dresser for all the clothes I was soon to get. I personally went to search for picture frames, big ones and small ones, and a few that held multiple pictures. When I was done, I met up with my grandparents just as they had found a set for me, three plush chairs, in pastel blue of course, a pastel green fuzzy throw rug, and a small glass table. The next thing we did we my bathroom, after saying that if I needed anything else for my room we could always come back. My bathroom was done in the same colors, so it made getting everything easier. What did we get? Just thing of the normal stuff, towels, shower curtains, holders, ect. The last thing we did was lamps, one for my desk, one of my new bedside table, I'd gotten that a while ago, and one for the corner by my chair and table set.

We finally loaded up the Escape, then my grandmother pointed to a shop across the street. It was an arts supply studio, and I almost shouted with joy. Most don't know this about me, but I absolutely love the arts, painting and drawing, sketching, everything! So, my grandfather finished loading everything up while we walked over. Once we entered, I knew I was in heaven. By the time we left a half hour later, I had purchased a new sketch book, a new easel, new paints, new drawing pencils, new pastels, and some stencils and paint to decorate my room. As we checked out, I had told Hannah, the cashier, that I would be back soon. Outside, my grandfather was parked on the street, Beach Boys blasting from the radio. It was only a short drive to our next stop, a couple of shops lined up, for clothes!

We spent about two hours in the three different stores, buying jeans, capris, different shirts, dresses, skirts, swimsuits, pajamas, shoes, hair accessories, jewelry, makeup, the whole shebang. It was only a short walk, kiddy corner to where we were, to this nice little diner, Pat's Place, so we went there for a late lunch. It was, after all, about two thirty, and all three of us were hungry. And it was that afternoon that I learnt to love Pat's, Patricia really, a friend of my grandparent's, chocolate milkshakes.

After that, we left for the house. I knew that I'd be back shopping soon, but there were always things that I'd need after I couldn't find them, so it was fine. It took hours, many hours, but finally everything was set up, made, hung up, and painted on the walls. And the final project looked beautiful. I can't say exactly how it is, but just use your imagination with what I said earlier!

And after one of the most tiring days of my life, I finally had a chance to relax on the downstairs patio with my family and watch the sunset on the beach. And beautiful it was. I even took pictures of it, and the whole house with the new digital camera that had awaited me when we got back. If my grandparents were really set on making up for the last so many years of my life, then they were on a perfect start. Not that I wanted anymore, I could live without, but I knew that they would take every chance to give me whatever I wanted.

That night in my room, I sent the pictures I had taken to Marie and Max, telling them about my day and asking how the honeymoon was so far. Then, I started a list of what I was going to need for my room. So far, a radio, chairs for my patio, a small rug for in front of the sliding doors, and maybe I could talk them into it, which would simply be asking them nicely, if I could get an iPod and download songs for the days I spent away at the beach. I love music and it was hard to go without it, but at least I could play it on my laptop right now. But when I found that it was eleven o'clock and I couldn't sleep, I knew I had to do something. So, what else is there to do other then snoop and look around more? The house was silent as I opened my door, my grandparents had gone to sleep a few hours ago, so I was all alone.

Of course, the first place I went to was the attic, as cliché as it was. It was like any typical attic, with boxes and trunks and old furniture. But there was one thing that drew me in, was the old acoustic guitar sitting on top of a box labeled "Henry and Anna, summer 1988". My breath hitched. That was the summer my parents had met, and those were their names. This box was about them! As I walked closer, I recognized the guitar, I'd seen it in pictures of my dad's youth, and other then being a little dusty, it looked exactly the same. But I was still careful of it as I set it on the ground to open the box. Pictures, clothes, shells, records, just little memorables loitered the box. I went through them all and I didn't know how long I had been up there, but it was later when I heard footsteps coming up the stairs and I turned to see my grandmother.

She didn't say anything as she walked over to me, smiling as she picked up the guitar with her old hands. She sat down in one of the antique chairs and looked at me sitting on the floor, covered with half the box. "You know, I was wondering how long it would take you to find this old box! This is all the stuff from the summer your parents met, right around this time actually. Did your father ever tell you that he isn't really British?" I looked at her shocked. No, I'd never known that. But now that she knew that, I had a feeling I was in for a story.

"Well, I bet your father told you that he was British and that we just moved over here years ago, not wanting to stay. Well, he was born and raised here, in Redondo, and it was your mother who was from England. She was spending her summer here, with friends, before going back for university. They met one day and it was like they had known each other their whole lives. They were always together and it wasn't long before they became an item. He knew that she would have to leave soon, but he didn't care, and neither did she, because they had fallen in love. They wanted to stay together, here, but she had already paid for the university, so she had to go. Well, we weren't happy when he announced that he was leaving with her when the summer ended, but we couldn't do anything other then support him and help him pay. I think he thought that we were disappointed with him, so he thought that we didn't want anything else to do with us, but that resulted in thinking that we thought he didn't want anything to do with us. I guess you could say it's both of our faults that we drifted apart. But hey, at least you were born, and you're here now, so that's all that matters!"

We laughed and finally we both noticed the time. She got up and looked at the guitar in her hands. "Did your father ever teach you to play?" I nodded. "Yeah, he got me one years ago and taught me to play. But, it was destroyed when…you know?" She nodded and held it out to me. I took it was shaking hands, stunned. "I think your father would want you to have this. Take care of it well, dear. Good night, Maya."

So, I had two jobs tomorrow: Finish shopping, and bring my dad's old guitar back perfect condition. It seemed like a lot, but I knew I could do it…

The first thing I did when I woke in the morning was check my e-mail and see if anybody had mailed me, and I smiled when I read Marie's letter describing the island and telling me that the sunset was just as perfect for as it was for me. And she also had the pictures to prove it! Then, I walked into my bathroom, taking it in. I stripped off my clothes and threw them into the hamper in the corner before stepping into the shower, turning the water one warm. The first thing I always did was wash my hair, and washing it now, I could tell that I had let it go in the past few months and it was kinda long, almost down to my butt, so that was something else I had to do today if I had time. Hopefully, my grandparents wouldn't mind that much.

Twenty minutes later, I stepped out of the bathroom wearing my new fuzzy pastel blue robe, and walked over to my closet. I picked out a charcoal blue off the shoulder top and blue capris along with my underwear, and then walked back into the bathroom to dry and straighten my hair, brush my teeth, and then walked back out to kneel on the floor in front of my bedside table. I opened it slowly and hear the little melody that started up. It had been my grandmother's years ago, and now it was mine, and that made me treat it with fragility when opening it. I reached in a picked out my simple silver necklace with a silver heart hanging from it, and then closed it after I put it on. I left my room, making sure to bring my purse and walked down the stairs to the kitchen.

My grandparents were both in the kitchen, my grandpa at the island with a cup of coffee in his hands and my grandma at the stove making what I assumed to be breakfast, as I could see eggs, bacon, and hash browns, and already made toast on another plate. "Good morning, Maya. Did you sleep alright?" I smiled and nodded at them both as I moved to the fridge to take out the milk and reach into the cupboard to get out a glass. "Yeah, I think it was the best sleep I've gotten in a long time!" They nodded and we continued to talk about what today was going to bring. My grandma had agreed that I could do with a haircut, maybe even some more color in it. Then, they looked at each like they had a secret and my grandfather pulled out a small box and handed it to me. "We figured you might want one of these, and with everything we did yesterday, we, forgot." I opened it and the first thing I saw was a reloadable gift card/credit card with $250 and underneath was blue Apple® iPod® nano. I squealed and hugged them both, and then we all ate.

Before we left, my grandma advised me that if I took my guitar with us, there was a shop that I could take it into to help me restore it. When we finally made it into the vehicle, my grandparents explained that when I wanted to come to town, which is what it was in a way, as we lived on the outskirts of the city and saying downtown was to much, I could walk, but because it was harder for them to walk all that way, it was just easier to drive. Honestly, I figured it'd only take me about fifteen twenty minutes to walk with only a five minute drive. And that would be nice, walking through Redondo would give me a chance to really take in the sights and see where else I could spend my time this summer.

We split up, my grandparents had a little shopping for themselves to do, and I took my guitar into Rick's Music Center, and as I did, it seemed to me that a lot of local shops had the owners name in them. I wasn't sure why I realized it at that moment, but I did and it was kinda funny. But as I walked in, whatever laugh I had been doing in my head stopped as I looked around in amazement. Almost every instrument known to man was there, along with anything needed for said instruments, along with old records, tapes, and CDs. It was like a music history museum.

"Hello! Can I help you today?" I jumped and turned around, holding my hand to my heart and my guitar harder. He looked to be in his 40s and gave off an air of calm, so instantly let my guard down, especially after I looked at his name tag, with the word "Nick" in big bold letters. "Hi. And yes, you can. I just moved here for the summer with my grandparents and I just received my father's old guitar. Meanless to say, it's been nineteen years since it's been played, or even touched. I was wondering if you could help me get it back in shape?" He took the guitar from my hands and led me over to the cashier counter and started looking at it. After a few minutes, he looked up and smiled. "I think that we can save her! It won't take long, can you stay today? I don't have anyone else coming around." And so we began.

Forty-five minutes later, I was back on the street, my guitar in a new case, and walking towards where my grandparents were loading up the escape with bags and smiled when they waved at me. We didn't feel the need to stay and I did want to get back to my room, because, apparently when they were shopping, they also got the rest of what I'd needed; my radio, a few comfy chairs for the patio, along with another small table, and the rug. The next place we went after putting everything away was to the salon for my hair. The girl who worked on my hair was really nice and helped me a lot with the finally decision, which turned out to be that I cute nine inches off, so that it reached just below my shoulders, and had it colored to be a light brown/dark blond, and it looked much more natural then my normal hair color, so it worked out. Then, we were all set, and when we finally got back home, I helped bring everything in and, since my grandmother had said that she was looking forward to the grandmother/granddaughter days together, I finished putting everything away that I could and then met her in the kitchen. I knew how to cook, my mother had taught me, but my grandmother said that she was going to use this summer to teach me some of the Granger family recipes, including the chocolate chip cookie one for today!

And when they were finally done, we dug in, and oh my God, they were completely delicious! I don't think I'd ever had anything better then those cookies, and I helped make them! I felt so empowered! So empowered that when we finished cleaning up, I went back to my room and grabbed my sketch book and pencils and finally walked down to the beach that was our backyard! There was a large palm tree right were the soil ground met the sand and I took up my place right there, just sitting and listening to the sounds of the waves before I finally took out my book and turned to the first page. I had seen a rock formation way out and it was beautiful, so I knew that it was the first thing that was going in here.

I wasn't sure how much later, but a noise from behind me made me jump and I hit my head as I turned around. There in front of me, wet nose and all, was a small Golden Labrador Retriever, looking straight into my eyes, curious, waiting for me. "She doesn't have a name yet, if you're wondering! We thought we'd leave it up to you!" I looked up and there they were, the two people who were making life a dream right now, and I could only look at them speechless. When they finally started walking towards me, I stood up and once again we were embraced in a warm hug. Then, I knelt down in the sand and looked the small puppy in the eyes and smiled. "I think I'll call you Sandy. How do you like that, girl?" In reply, she started barking and waving her tail around and ran into my arms as I started to laugh and pet her. "Now, we know this is going to be a big responsibility, but we've already gone out and got her some things, like food, a dog bed, leash and collar, the works! You just have to go and get her a name tag!" I was still on the ground looking up at them when I started crying. In only the two short days that I'd been here, I felt like this was my home, my real home and that I had a complete whole and loving family forever! I never wanted to give it up.

I didn't want to wait, so after I got the leash and collar from my grandparents, I grabbed my purses and slipped on my flip flops again and together we walked into town to get a new dog tags for Sandy. She's already had her check up, two days ago actually, when she had been taken over to friends of my grandparents until they thought I was done with surprises so that they could really surprise me, so I'll I had to do put the finishing touches on the tags, her name. At the vet, we were greeted warmly and I figured my grandparents had called a head, and I was right when I was given a short note from them saying that if I wanted, I could stay in town for a little and eat, as they were in the mood for liver and onions, and they knew I didn't like it. So after everything was set, we started walking over to Pat's and we sat outside, so that I didn't have to leave Sandy by herself outside, and waited for one of the waitresses to come out. I ordered a chocolate milkshake of course, and an order of fries and a BLT, minus the L with extra B, making sure that there was enough for both of us. There was, and we both sat looking at the ocean as we finished eating, until the waitress came back out with our bill and I paid, leaving what was leave over from the ten dollars I was as a tip, and we began the walk home. It didn't seem that long and soon we were home and I was helping my grandma clean the kitchen as my grandpa went and brought out all the stuff for Sandy. Since she was house trained, she could sleep in my room so that's were her bed went in my room, which I had no problem with. Now that I had my baby, I didn't want her far from me, but that was probably just the little voice in the back of my head that was reminding me about the last time I had left my pet home.

We all watched television that night, Jeopardy, and even though I wasn't very up with the times and the customs, I rocked at it, and because it seemed like all three of us were answering just as much as the others, my grandfather suggested that maybe next time, we keep score to see who won, just to make it interesting. I readily agreed and knew that this was just one more thing that was going to bring us closer this summer. But when the night was over, as we had watched some other great American shows like a show called Bones, which was really amazing, I had gone up to my room with Sandy to work on filling my new iPod with songs. I bought everything that I could think of, all the songs that I could possibly want, and when it was all finished, I was so happy that I couldn't keep even think of falling asleep so I set up my easel and brought out my paints, just stroking the page with different colors until my eyes couldn't stay open anymore.


End file.
